cheap(er) European, South American month long vacay ideas
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Anonymous
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Hi everyone - My wife and I have had a hell of a past few years (coming out of some serious medical problems) and are ready to get away. We are lucky that we're renters and our lease is up soon. In my job I have the Summers off (educator) and my wife works for a small organization from home so she can work anywhere there is wifi.
Our ideas is to put our stuff in storage and live somewhere else for a month. However, ideally we wouldn't want to spend over $2500 for that month (this excludes plane tickets as we would travel somewhere anyway so that money is from another budget) to equal/balance out what we'd be spending in rent here. So our plan was to get an AirBnb somewhere and act as if we were here somewhat - grocery shop under a budget that we have here, make coffee at home, eat out under a budget, etc. So is the world our oyster or are there only certain places that would work with that budget? I have been to Paris, Madrid, Barcelona and Rome for work and my wife has been to neither of those. For vacation previously we did a few weeks in South Africa, Kenya, and Ethiopia. My original thoughts were Paris because I thought my wife would love the history but then I started to think 1) our food budget would probably be decimated if we go somewhere in Europe and 2) if we're missing something by not considering anywhere in South America? We do love a beach! |
Anonymous
| No suggestions, but this sounds like a great idea. Have a blast! |
Anonymous
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This is a fabulous idea! I'd try Cartagena if you want to save.
I agree that Europe is going to be way more expensive, but if you could swing it, Paris would of course be fabulous. |
Anonymous
| The Euro is really low against the Dollar right now, so it's a great time to visit Europe. Paris is expensive because it's a big city. Why not pick a smaller city? |
Anonymous
| Costa Rica! |
Anonymous
| Go for Buenos Aires. The city is awesome and extremely cheap right now if you exchange dollars at the blue rate instead of the official rate (google blue rate and you can read all about it). It is also relatively close to the great beaches in Uruguay. Your money will go far there. |
Anonymous
Another vote for Buenos Aires, try an AirBnB in the neighborhood of Palermo Soho, we have done this several times; there's great access to public transportation (cheap and excellent), the exchange rate is great for American tourists now, and if you get homesick you'll have Starbucks, Pain Quotidien, and a bunch of similar chains in the area. The only downside is that it will be winter there, but that only means 50s or 40s in a bad day (it doesn't snow over there). You'll love it. You could also do day or weekend trips to Uruguay and catch a plane to Brazil, Chile or Peru...really worth it. |
Anonymous
| OP Here: All of these suggestions are great! Keep em coming |
Anonymous
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Granada Nicaragua.
You could probably rent a nice place with a courtyard pool. |
Anonymous
| Portugal! You could spend some time in Lisbon and some time in the beachy area of the Algarve. It's much cheaper than most of Europe. Lots of sunshine and fresh fish. You can also travel to Spain very easily. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
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Southern Turkey or southern Spain. Both are gorgeous, cheap -- there are some lovely airbnbs in both, and you'd have plenty to explore.
Southern Turkey (Turquoise coast) is far and away my favorite place in the world -- check out Kas or Kalkan or Fethiye. |
Anonymous
| Ecuador!! |
Anonymous
+1 again. We were in Lisbon for 3 weeks in a rented flat earlier this year. Sunny, welcoming, a strong sense of history, lots of art and new shops/restaurants too, and great food at super cheap prices. Most people speak English quite well, but if you speak some spanish or French, you'll be able to decipher a lot of written material. Small city is easy enough to get around by foot (but hilly, so you get some exercise). But there is good public transportation & cheap taxis too. Day trips to sintra, cascais, evora. Train will take you to beaches within 20 mins. NYT did a video and short article just yesterday or maybe day before. It's beautiful! |
Anonymous
| Good question op. I am looking for the same thing. Like maybe spending a few days in major cities but then heading to some lower cost of living town. |